I'm curious about everyone's stories. I know I could read through the archives, but there aren't enough naptimes for that I would love it if you'd post a highlight story of how you got here and what you've tried!

I also have a question about glutamine. Everything I read says it's fantastic for healing the gut. Everyone here touts bone broths as a good source. But I've read a little (and can't find much more) saying that glutamine isn't very heat stable - making bone broths not such a great source since they're cooked to death. What am I missing here?

in searching for an answer about the heat stability of glutamine, i stumbled across an interesting tidbit: beet juice is apparently high in glutamine. maybe beet kvass might be better than bone broths if the heat stability issue is really a concern.

When the ammonia drops off, you're left with glutamate. Almost all of the human studies have been on glutamine. However, there is one rat study out there that says glutamate might be better than glutamine for rat gut mucosa.

My DD is on L-Glutamine as a supplement. Its by Thorne Research and is hypoallergenic. I haven't worried much about dietary sources. We do bone broths as much as possible, but haven't done as much later. I'm looking forward to the summer when I can have broth simmering all day...

Things are going really well for us, considering where we've been. DD's skin is remaining very clear and she only requires a little bit of daily moisturizer on her arms and legs, and sometimes on her face and neck. She's been much happier and sleeping so much better as well.

She's still on the VSL#3 at least until next week. We tried reintroducing tomatoes and she seemed to do okay with them. She was a tad bit itchy, but I'm not positive it was related. Small amounts seem to be okay, so we'll be adding them to our rotation of foods. Today we trialed spelt, so I should know in a few days if its a go. I think I'd break into the hallelujah chorus if she could have it, because we could finally do things like sourdough!!!

We won't be retesting her stool for a least another month or two, because it can take a while for her body to get rid of all the toxins. I think the biggest thing will be taking her off the VSL#3 and seeing what happens...

Okay. I want help. Is anyone up for a challenge? I am willing to do any diet whatsoever, but I'd *like* to minimize supplements and focus on foods.

What's the fastest, most-likely-to-succeed way to heal a leaky gut that might also have yeast issues?

Background:
dd is 8.5 months old and ebf, but BEGGING for food. Yesterday she crawled straight to the farmer's market bag full of peaches and took a bite while I blinked. She reacts with (slightly bloody) diarrhea if I eat something she's sensitive to. But thriving otherwise, and doesn't seem to mind the reactions too much.

I know she reacts to wheat, I suspect corn (though not as severe) and haven't yet challenged dairy, other gluten or soy because we haven't had a long-enough period of normal.

My goals are to minimize (or even eliminate?) her long term food sensitivities and prevent future children from developing them. Short term (next year or so), I don't care how restricted/gross/uncomfortable it gets. We can survive anything and now is the time to take care of it.

So what do you recommend?
I'm wondering about the SCD vs zero-carb yeast diet, enzymes, non-dairy probiotic powerhouses, CLO, how much I should bother trying to avoid dd's reactions, who to focus on (me or her), and I'm sure there's more.

Hey, just checking in. I am working on healing the gut to eliminate my multiple IgG food allergies. I am doing enzymes, probiotics, non-dairy ferments, beef bone broths, and a TF diet. Also, CLO, pastured butter, and liver. Right now I am trying to decide if I should do SCD or just keep doing what I am. I thinking being totally grain free could help. I have an IgA reaction to glianden so it seems I may be forever off that but that is okay with me. I am going to try raw 24 yogurt and see how I feel because I have never tried that for a dairy challenge. I am thinking my body may just need milk raw, grassfed and fermented. I am also going to try 24 hours goat yogurt.

Other questions:
what foods are easier/harder to digest and does it matter?

Are there specific foods I can give dd that will let her play with solids and possibly be good for her as well? I'm thinking along the lines of CLO (is there a good brand without soy?), gelatin, coconut milk yogurt...

I was reading the HTG cheat sheet and it says to take enzymes between meals. Should I just take the one I always do with meals? I think it is called NSI 10X Mega Digestive enzymes http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Mega-Digestive-Enzymes-10X . (If it makes any difference, I am 18 weeks pregnant)

Other questions:
what foods are easier/harder to digest and does it matter?

Are there specific foods I can give dd that will let her play with solids and possibly be good for her as well? I'm thinking along the lines of CLO (is there a good brand without soy?), gelatin, coconut milk yogurt...

Many modern foods, such as processed milk products, breads and soy foods, are extremely difficult to digest; but traditional preparation methods made food easy to digest and facilitated assimilation of nutrients. They include:

Preparation of grains by soaking and sour leavening to neutralize difficult-to-digest components and nutrient blockers.
Long soaking and cooking, or even fermentation, of legumes.
Fermentation of many types of tubers, such as casava.
Lacto-fermention of condiments and beverages to provide beneficial bacteria for the digestive tract.
Consumption of protein foods (meat, eggs, fish and milk products) with plenty of fat.
Use of gelatin-rich bone broths. Gelatin acts not only to bring food into contact with digestive juices, it also soothes the intestinal wall.
Cooking of most vegetables (and even some fruits) to neutralize toxins and break down cell walls.
Proper aging of meat to initiate the breakdown of protein. With proper aging and/or fermentation, meat is quite digestible either raw or carefully cooked at low temperature.
Soaking and/or roasting of nuts to remove irritants and toxins.

I'm on board with soaking and fermenting foods. We've been mostly grain-free for a while now, and I definitely won't be giving those to her any time soon.

Another question on my mind: I'm doing all this because dd reacts to my milk, and to reduce long term food intolerances/allergies for her.
Should it be a higher priority to keep her reaction-free right now, on the theory that every reaction is fuel for the next one?
Or should I focus on healing me as fast as possible, and if she reacts a little but is still happy and thriving - that's ok?

I'm wanting to add raw milk kefir to my own diet to try and get as many of the good bugs in me as possible. I don't actually know if she reacts to dairy or not. And I'm afraid she's starting to react to something else new now...

I'm on board with soaking and fermenting foods. We've been mostly grain-free for a while now, and I definitely won't be giving those to her any time soon.

Another question on my mind: I'm doing all this because dd reacts to my milk, and to reduce long term food intolerances/allergies for her.
Should it be a higher priority to keep her reaction-free right now, on the theory that every reaction is fuel for the next one?
Or should I focus on healing me as fast as possible, and if she reacts a little but is still happy and thriving - that's ok?

I'm wanting to add raw milk kefir to my own diet to try and get as many of the good bugs in me as possible. I don't actually know if she reacts to dairy or not. And I'm afraid she's starting to react to something else new now...

Can you work on healing yourself and keeping her reactions low at the same time? AS I understand, if you do not heal you will just keep reacting to more foods. If your get is leaky then there will just be other foods that keep getting into your breastmilk that she reacts too. I would try and devise a healing diet and observe your daughter at the same time. I would try the raw kefir and see how it goes.

Well, I have done SCD for about 3 days now. I think I have leaky gut and want to heal my multiple foods allergies so I am giving it a shot. (I did try last November, but I was still having so many health problems and low energy that I could not deal with doing the diet) Now I have plenty of energy and I don't feel overwhelmed by the food choices or cooking. I also picked up a lot more cooking experience over the past year, so I have the TF basics (broth, fermenting, food sources ect) down.

I am on my 3rd day of raw 24hour yogurt and raw aged cheese and if I still feel good tomorrow then it can probably tolerate that. I think that yogurts and kefirs are very important for healing so if I have very minor issues I will still continue.

I am not doing SCD really in stages because I don't really have apparrent digestion problems (like loose stools, IBS or anything). I just know that my gut is damged from the past and need to heal. I will not be using beans anytime soon though. I feel like the produce, dairy, meat and nut diet is good. I am hoping to heal quickly because I have already addressed nutrient defiencies and have been eating TF for 1.5 years. I also don't think I have a yeast issue.

***Does anyone have advice on when to try prevoiusly intolerant foods? I would like to try eggs sometime, but I am not sure how long to wait.***

Well, I have done SCD for about 3 days now. I think I have leaky gut and want to heal my multiple foods allergies so I am giving it a shot.
...
I am not doing SCD really in stages because I don't really have apparrent digestion problems (like loose stools, IBS or anything). I just know that my gut is damged from the past and need to heal. I will not be using beans anytime soon though. I feel like the produce, dairy, meat and nut diet is good. I am hoping to heal quickly because I have already addressed nutrient defiencies and have been eating TF for 1.5 years. I also don't think I have a yeast issue.

Hey, it sounds like we're in a similar spot. I'm starting the SCD tomorrow, but today trying to follow it as closely as possible. So far, no problem aside from cabbage. I was wondering about the stages, too. If I don't have any obvious symptoms to "go away" then how would I know what was happening? I'm thinking about instead focusing on the stages for introducing foods to dd.

oh, and focusing on me while minimizing reactions in dd is what makes the most sense to me. If I focused on eliminating them all, I'd go crazy! I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm not going to give her a ton of major intolerances down the road by not eliminating them completely right now.

I too am on day 3 of the SC diet. I have yet to be officially diagnosed, but I have a persistent pain (feels just like ovulation pain) in my appendix area. I had a colonoscopy and pill cam study that showed erosions in the small bowel. Dr has yet to name why they are there, i just want them GONE, and dont want to be on lifetime drugs to do it. So I have pro actively started the SC Diet.

I am not taking any supplements yet, but have been advised that omega 3 6 9 is good, L Glutamine, and Probiotic.

Any tips anyone has or additional info about healing erosions, I woudl LOVE to hear.

I wanted to add too that I have been working on staying positive about my healing. I have also been praying and trying to have faith that I will be healed. I can get negative really easily about my allergies and stress is not good for gut health! I read in the Maker's Diet what an impact staying positive had on his recovery and realized that was missing from my health plan

I was reading the HTG cheat sheet and it says to take enzymes between meals. Should I just take the one I always do with meals? I think it is called NSI 10X Mega Digestive enzymes http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Mega-Digestive-Enzymes-10X . (If it makes any difference, I am 18 weeks pregnant)

Thanks,

Jen

The same enzymes should be okay, I would think. Taking them between meals helps your body to "mop up" anything extra floating around that hasn't been broken down properly with the rest of the meal. At least that is how I understand it. I've been giving my DD the enzymes on the GI Pro Health website because most of their products are SCD friendly. http://www.giprohealth.com/prozymes.html We've only built up to two a day so far. I gave her another brand and started out way too fast and she ended up with a weird body rash, so we've been doing the slow and low method.

I really wish something like the SCD could have helped us, but with DD's c. difficule infection the SCD doesn't work to kill it. I was really glad we did the stool analysis and I knew it wouldn't work to heal her before I tried it. Not that I don't think it could have done some good, but it wouldn't have killed the c. difficule because you can't starve it. Just saying this so that if anyone tries the SCD and doesn't get results, a comprehensive stool analysis may be helpful to see if you are fighting something in the gut that can't be treated by diet alone.

\
I really wish something like the SCD could have helped us, but with DD's c. difficule infection the SCD doesn't work to kill it. I was really glad we did the stool analysis and I knew it wouldn't work to heal her before I tried it. Not that I don't think it could have done some good, but it wouldn't have killed the c. difficule because you can't starve it. Just saying this so that if anyone tries the SCD and doesn't get results, a comprehensive stool analysis may be helpful to see if you are fighting something in the gut that can't be treated by diet alone.

What else is the SCD *not* good for?

And for food ideas, I've been eating all sorts of yummy stuff! Last night was roast leg of lamb with smooshed cauliflower.

Oh, and a quick (TMI) question about die-off: On saturday and again today (tues) I've had an upset tummy-turned diarrhea. It really seems like something I ate, but I'm wondering if it could be die-off instead? I was eating completely different things friday night and last night...

cut apple into chunks and put it in a small oven safe dish (mine was about 4x4inches square). Add berries, mix a bit. Drizzle honey on top. In another bowl, blend butter and almond flour into sticky clumps. Sprinkle evenly over top of fruit. drizzle honey evenly over the top. Bake 325F for about 45 mins.

Let cool a little b4 you eat. Of course it is FAb with whipped cream, but am not sure if thats legal or not, so i didnt go there!

Enjoy. Sorry if I posted the recipe in the wrong spot. Still finding my way around.

Newcastle be delighted to be your pal on this trip. I too am a big believer in thinking positive. I am a hypnotist by trade, and I know first hand the mind can do amazing things when taught how.

Any tips anyone has or additional info about healing erosions, I would LOVE to hear.

The super strong probiotic my DD is on may help- its called VSL#3. Its not SCD legal, but it has a long scientific track record of helping a variety of bowel/gut issues. It literally took my daughter from suffering severe eczema and multiple food allergies to her skin becoming healed, her lymph nodes shrinking back down to normal, and us able to reintroduce foods she couldn't have before. And all these positive results were from it helping to heal her gut. Here is the website:

just for completeness sake, anyone know how the SCD does with candida? other candida diets seem to be all about ZERO carbs whatsoever.

newcastlemama and applezz - are either of you doing the intro and/or stages? I've started without them (today's my day 2 and a half - the first day was a test run) but am thinking about just getting the book and doing the whole shebang even though my own symptoms aren't really obvious. My reasoning is that first, it should jump start everything which should lead to faster results, and second, it i don't notice changes, i don't want to have the 'what ifs' and uncertainty that maybe i did it wrong or it's just too slow and gradual.

in other news, i think i have dh on board, at least for a week-long trial-run. he's been a fantastic sport about everything so far and has been eating the same as me for dinner, but the big change for him will be to bring his lunch to work - it's the culture there to go out everyday. his biggest holdback is the lack of science. he says the whole immune system is so poorly understood, that anyone claiming to know whats going on with it shouldn't be trusted. he'd feel a lot better if there were big trials that showed actual improvement...

WHome, I just jumped in, because I didnt have the book yet, and I have limited time to get things improved b4 I go back to the Dr. who is going to prescribe medicines I do not want to take. (Nothing against modern meds, but am only 38 I do not want to start some kind of life time thing when stepping up with my food, may get things on the right track). Pain is about the same as yesterday, But over all i think I didnt feel it at all for periods today. As in usually it is there all the time and I am aware. I was aware of it as some points today, but as i sat in the chair typing, I was not at all aware of it, until I thought about it, so it is there, but ignorable now. So I have honestly been staggered at the results.

Tempest, OOOOH thanks for the probiotic tip, I am off to check it out next.

Newcastle, any cravings at all? I am having a hard time eating enough calories. I definitely have some pounds I can shed, but before dinner, even though I had eaten five times, I was still only up to about 700 calories for the day. I ate out, put butter on my steamed veggies and cheese on my turkey burger, but even with that I bet I barely hit 1200 calories. Maybe it gets better when I get a full menu under my belt? How about you, any difficulties?

So I drank baking soda this morning to test my stomach acid. And it took 4.5 minutes to burp. I'm going to redo it tomorrow with fresh soda, but now what? How do you even increase your stomach acid? off to read archives...

and dd is reacting to something new. i hope it's lamb. i want this taken care of!!!